Canadian air travel is again buckling under the weight of winter as more than 116 flight cancellations and at least 105 delays swept across the country this week, snarling operations for Air Canada, WestJet, Porter Airlines, PAL Airlines and a host of regional carriers. From Toronto and Montreal to Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton and smaller hubs, thousands of passengers have been stranded or severely delayed as snow, freezing drizzle and lingering crew shortages collide with already fragile schedules.

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Fresh Wave of Disruptions Caps a Turbulent January

The latest wave of cancellations and delays unfolded across multiple days in mid January, compounding an already chaotic start to 2026 for Canadian aviation. Data compiled from airport operations reports and flight tracking services show more than 116 flights cancelled and at least 105 delayed over a short window, as a series of winter systems pushed across Ontario, Quebec and the West Coast.

Toronto Pearson, Montreal Trudeau and Vancouver International once again sat at the heart of the disruption. On one of the worst recent days, airports reported about 20 cancellations and more than 150 delays concentrated at these major hubs, according to industry summaries. That followed a shockingly difficult week earlier in the month, when over a thousand delays and dozens of cancellations were registered nationwide in a single day, underscoring how quickly Canada’s air network can seize up when weather and operations collide.

For travelers, the statistics translated into terminal-floor campouts, missed connections and last minute scrambles for hotel rooms. Many passengers had already been displaced by earlier storms this month, so the latest disruptions hit a network where crews, aircraft and itineraries were still out of position, leaving airlines with little room to recover when fresh weather problems developed.

Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver Bear the Brunt

Canada’s three largest international gateways once again absorbed the worst of the chaos. Toronto Pearson continued to rank among the most heavily disrupted airports in the world on several recent days, with dozens of arrivals and departures either cancelled outright or delayed by more than an hour. Earlier in January, Pearson alone accounted for nearly half of all delays in the country on a particularly severe day, and the airport has struggled to pull operations fully back on schedule since.

Montreal Trudeau and Vancouver International were similarly hard hit. Montreal reported recurring rounds of cancellations as snow and low visibility forced repeated de icing cycles and reduced runway capacity. Vancouver, which frequently serves as a pressure valve when central Canadian hubs falter, instead faced its own operational squeeze as Pacific systems brought heavy precipitation and strong winds that complicated approaches and departures.

Secondary airports did not escape the ripple effects. Ottawa and Edmonton, along with Quebec City and regional gateways in Atlantic Canada, all reported clusters of cancellations and delays, largely tied to aircraft that were unable to depart from the bigger hubs or to crews who had timed out after long duty days in challenging conditions.

Air Canada, WestJet, Porter and PAL Under Intensifying Scrutiny

Among carriers, Air Canada has once again emerged as the most heavily affected airline in terms of raw numbers. The national flag carrier has led both delays and cancellations during several of the most recent disruption days, reflecting its dominant presence at Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. On some days this month, Air Canada alone logged several hundred delayed flights and dozens of cancellations nationwide, according to aggregated operational data.

WestJet and its regional affiliate WestJet Encore have also been drawn into the storm of criticism. The Calgary based carrier has seen a combination of weather driven cancellations and cascading delays from earlier operational challenges, including persistent crew positioning issues following the New Year storm in early January. While WestJet’s absolute number of cancelled flights has often trailed Air Canada, the impact has been deeply felt in Western Canada and on key domestic trunk routes linking Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Porter Airlines, which has rapidly expanded from its Toronto City and Ottawa bases into jet operations across the country, has faced its own headwinds. A snowstorm in Toronto this week prompted Billy Bishop Airport to cancel all Air Canada flights and led Porter to scrub multiple departures and arrivals, leaving downtown Toronto passengers with few alternatives. Meanwhile, PAL Airlines and other regional carriers in Quebec and Atlantic Canada have had to cancel flights outright in some markets, as small aircraft and shorter runways are especially vulnerable to crosswinds, low ceilings and icy conditions.

Weather Conditions Compound Structural Weaknesses

Airlines and airports have largely attributed the latest wave of disruptions to winter weather, pointing to snowstorms in southern Ontario, freezing drizzle in Quebec and prolonged de icing backlogs at major hubs. A bitter Arctic front at the start of January had already grounded nearly 600 flights and delayed many more across the country, leaving airlines scrambling to reposition aircraft and crews once conditions improved.

Yet the scale and persistence of the delays point to deeper structural issues in Canada’s aviation system. Operators are still contending with tight staffing levels in critical ground handling, maintenance and flight crew roles. In several recent cases, carriers cited crew availability and knock on delays from earlier storms as a key reason they could not quickly recover operations, even as skies began to clear.

Because Canadian carriers now run tightly banked schedules and lean fleets, a relatively small number of cancellations can create bottlenecks that last for days. A single winter storm that forces aircraft into extended de icing queues and slashes runway capacity can strand planes and crews out of sequence across the network, leading to rolling waves of disruption felt long after the last snowflake has fallen.

Passengers Face Long Lines, Confusion and Limited Options

For passengers, the operational jargon of de icing queues and crew positioning translates into long lines at check in counters, packed customer service desks and a shortage of clear information at the gate. At Toronto Pearson, passengers this week reported extensive queues stretching through terminals as travelers sought rebooking options or clarity on whether long delayed flights would eventually depart.

In Montreal and Vancouver, many travelers described the now familiar routine of arriving to find departure boards filled with orange and red notices, followed by repeated pushes of the scheduled time as aircraft waited for de icing or incoming crews. With hotels near major airports quickly selling out and winter road conditions making overland alternatives risky, some families and business travelers have opted to sleep at the airport rather than risk missing early morning rebooked departures.

Compounding the frustration is the patchwork of communication tools used by airlines. While major carriers urge travelers to monitor mobile apps and email alerts, inconsistent updates and last minute gate changes have left many passengers feeling they are always one notification behind. In some cases, flights have been cancelled after passengers have already boarded, as weather or crew duty time limits closed out the operational window at the last moment.

Regulatory Pressure and Passenger Rights in the Spotlight

The recurring disruption is refocusing attention on Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which set out compensation and care obligations when flights are delayed or cancelled. Under these rules, travelers can be entitled to meals, hotel accommodation and in some cases financial compensation that can reach up to four figures for lengthy delays deemed within the airline’s control.

Airlines typically argue that weather related cancellations fall outside that compensation framework, while still acknowledging an obligation to rebook passengers as soon as possible. Consumer advocates, however, say that the boundary between pure weather events and operational decision making is often blurry, especially when crew shortages or scheduling choices interact with predictable winter storms.

Regulators and policymakers are watching closely. With multiple severe disruption episodes already recorded in January, passenger groups are pressing for more robust enforcement of existing rules and clearer real time guidance at the airport when things go wrong. For many travelers stuck in terminals this week, the practical question is more immediate: whether airlines will provide meal vouchers, hotel rooms or ground transportation when overnight delays make continuing a journey impossible.

Business Travelers and Tourism Sector Count the Cost

The timing of the disruptions is particularly painful for Canada’s business community. The first weeks of January traditionally mark a ramp up in corporate travel as companies shift from holiday slowdowns into full operational speed. This year, many executives, sales teams and technical staff have found themselves marooned at airports or rerouted through complex itineraries that add days to short business trips.

Visa and mobility consultants report that companies are now adding several hours of buffer time into itineraries routed through Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, especially for links to major U.S. hubs. Some firms are advising staff to avoid tight same day connections and to prioritize nonstop flights where possible, even at higher cost, in an effort to insulate key meetings and site visits from cascading cancellations.

The disruptions are also reverberating across Canada’s tourism industry. Winter is a crucial season for ski resorts in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as for northern lights tourism and urban festivals in Quebec and Ontario. Tour operators say that when flights are cancelled or heavily delayed, entire packages can unravel, with missed transfers, lost ski days and cut short city stays. Rebooking arrangements are further complicated when hotels in destination areas are full, leaving both domestic and international visitors with limited flexibility.

What Travelers Can Do Now

For those planning to fly to, from or within Canada in the coming days, airlines and travel specialists emphasize preparation and flexibility. Checking flight status frequently, opting in to all airline notification tools and building extra time into connections are now basic survival strategies rather than optional precautions. Where possible, travelers are encouraged to choose earlier departures in the day, which statistically have a better chance of operating before weather and delays cascade through the system.

Travelers are also being urged to familiarize themselves with their rights under Canadian regulations and individual airline policies. Keeping receipts for meals, hotels and ground transportation, documenting communications with airline staff and taking screenshots of boarding passes and cancellation notices can all help if passengers later seek refunds or compensation.

With winter still in full force and forecasts calling for more bouts of snow, freezing rain and extreme cold in the weeks ahead, aviation analysts warn that the current spate of cancellations and delays may not be the last severe episode of the season. For now, the more than 116 cancellations and 105 delays logged in this latest wave help paint a picture of a system operating at the edge of its resilience, as Canada’s airlines, airports and regulators face mounting pressure to prove they can keep the country moving through the harshest months of the year.